Die Reise
Die Reise: Buch Eins
Parsifal spots a grand opportunity,
Heinrich only sees an imminent danger.
Katze and Maus the boys' respective surnames,
Both lads of sixteen, young and still unbroken.
Their first stop is to meet Froschkoenig, who lives
In a swamp near Marienkind, their humble land.
They seek to emulate a local hero,
'Einem der Auszog das Fuerchten zu Lernen',
Who rescued seven young children from a large
Terrible wolf, and these youths became great kings.
He was Johannes, son of Gutehandel,
Once a simple farmer, now tale immortal.
A town bard, wunderliche spielmann, sets them
On a quest, by request from Min, the mighty
Goddess of War, who told him the Zwoelfbrueder,
Twelve enemy kings, will attack their land soon.
So they've left their town Lumpengesindel and
Have been on the road since. Parsifal misses
His schwesters, Heliabel and Dandrane,
Heinrich hopes his bruederchen Haensel is well.
The Maennlein im Walde, three little dwarrows,
Point them to the bog. They trust the dwarfish words,
And meet the Spinnerinnen along the way.
Three lofty zauberinnen, schlangenblaetter
The source of their zauber. Lord Weisseschlange
Gave them their enchanted staves: Strohhalm, Kohle,
And Bohne, with which they cast mighty spells. They
Prophecy vague words over the confused boys:
'Find the Fischer and his Frau, then Tapfere
Schneiderlein,' says Aschenputtel. Their raetsel
Continues: 'The black jackdaws will guide you on,
Frau Holle will feed your bellies. The Raben,
Her zaubic Order, will shepherd you along,'
Says Rotkaeppchen, daughter of gentle Hulda.
'In Brementown find some stadtmusikanten.
One will give you the Singendeknochen, a
Flute that can control the minds of beasts. The next
Will give you the Golden Haaren, three yellow
Ropes that can never be cut through. The third will
Give you two swords, Laeuschen and Flohchen, which can
Only be wielded by their owners. And so
You'll be. Beware of Maedchen ohne Haende,
Armless zauberin who'll send her servant Hanz
To thwart you in your journey. Elsie, our sprite,
Will take you to Teufel, in the town Himmel.
She will appear as a goldesel, donkey
Made of metal, and will speak three languages.
From Himmel go to Daumesdick, find Fuechsin,
Then go to the lands of the Wichtelmaenner.
Enter the lair of the Raeuberbraeutigam,
Lord Korbes, evil zauberer, and battle
Gevatter Tod. Find Frau Trude, mother of
Daumerling, whose eagle, Fitcher, will lead you
To the Machandelboom, the great World-Tree. Its
Guardian, Sultan Schwan, will take you to the
Tomb of sleeping Dornroeschen, his lover who
Awakes every hundred years. Her servant, small
Fundevogel, will take you to Drosselbart,'
Says Schneewittchen, the third zauberin. They leave
And make their way to Ranzenhuetleinhoernlein,
Home of the Toad-Lord. Rumpelstilzchen his name,
His butlers Roland, Hund, and Sperling answer.
They enter his house, long abandoned. It seems
The zauberer was arrested by Frieder
And Katerlieschen, the local sheriffs. Young
Buerle, a servant, is sweeping the dead floors.
'Where is Bienenkoenigin?' asks Parsifal.
The zauberer's wife may be here, if not him.
'She's in Goldenegans at the moment. Shall
I pass on a message?' 'No, we just came to
Get a map.' Heinrich finds the old scroll on a
Shelf, covered in feathers. Parsifal sees a
Picture of Queen Allerleirauh, the greatest
Karcist ever known. She could change into a
Thousand different forms. Daughter of King Hase,
She first perfected the art of shapeshifting.
They leave the house and search for the Fischer, who
Lives nearby. Amfortas son of Frimutel
Son of Titurel. His wife Theomacha
Lanced him and fled with his molten bronze statues,
The nine goddesses of light and dark zauber:
Morgen, Moronoe, and kind Mazoe,
Gliten, Glitonea, apple-eyed Gliton,
Tironoe, Titen elder, Titen young.
The Fischer tends to his eternal spear wound,
The dolorous stroke maiming his genitals,
Unable to seal the blight or stop the blood.
His loins wrapped in bandages, he fishes near
The river, singing to himself without end:
'A gaudeif and his great meester, Jorinde
And Joringel, some glueckskinder alone in
The welt. Fuchsmenschen, sons of Gretel Nelke,
Having to pay for their iniquitous sin...'
'Grossvater! Son of a wassernixe! We
Have come for your compass, Huehnchen. We need it.'
'Enkel, how dost thou know thou needest it so?'
'All things have been explained to us by a bard,
A mouthpiece of great Min the Kriegsgoettin. She
Has told us the things we need for the trip, and
From whence to retrieve them. We need your compass
To find the brave tailor, your brother Lustig.'
The zauberer sighs, and reaches into his
Mud-stained coat. Pulling out the liahona,
A smooth brass ball, within which are two spindles.
The top half of the ball has a hole carved in,
So they can see the spindles, one which points North,
The next which points them in their quest's direction.
They leave the Fischer, feeling Hanz on their tail.
Goldkind his surname, he's the Maedchen's servant,
Singende Springende Loeweneckerchen
Her real name, she's also called the Gaensemagd.
They now enter Erdmaenneken, the land of
The riesen, sons of Imer. Giant frost-beings,
Humans of impressive size, large as mountains.
Four schoena are one Milion, which is
Four-thousand eight-hundred and fifty-two feet.
Each riese is twenty-four schoena tall,
And six schoena wide. There are none smaller.
The riesen dwell on Goldenenberg, a peak
That reaches the heavens. Some local Raben
Also live near. Hildebrand Bauerntochter,
A good zauberin, sends Wasser-des-Lebens
To guide them to the tailor in Allwissend.
On the way, they find a geist in a bottle.
The spirit, Russiger, begs them for freedom.
'A reiche probably trapped it in here. It
Wouldn't be wise to let it out, lest it turn.'
'It doesn't appear evil,' offers Heinrich.
'Looks can be deceiving.' They leave the spirit;
Zauberer Baerenhaeuter trapped it therein.
The bird, a zaunkoenig, leads them to a door.
The tailor welcomes them in, and offers some
Suessebrei and bratwurst, which they gladly eat.
'Klugenleute, what brings you to my paddock?'
'Muellerbursch, we are wanderers on a quest
To stop a war. Igel, a local bard robed
In a totenhemdchen, was used by great Min
To give us a message. In some dornen, we
Must stop the Jaeger from invading our heim.'
'What do you need of me?' He's done this before.
'We need the Dreschflegel vom Himmel, the flail
That can break any blade.' 'Koenigskinder, the
Flail will unleash its power when you utter
These words: Die klare Sonne bringts an den tag.'
He finds the farming implement, which once was
Used by King Blauelicht Eigensinnige,
Born a feldscherer, later a warlord by
Power of Min. The king of the Swabians
Passed the flail down his line as an old heirloom.
Now it shall be used once more. They take their leave.
'Handwerksburschen, take care!' calls out the tailor.
'Thank you, Koenigssohn who had fear of nothing!'
They set off once more, circling the Golden Mount,
Camping occasionally to eat some kraut.
Their rations are scarce, but they are watched over
By Min, the Alte im Wald. They call on the
Nine Grossmuetter for strength. The goddesses heed.
They're in the lands of King Ferdinand Getrue,
Called Eisenofen, a dry and hardy realm.
Kunstreichen, another Raben, sends forth his
Birds, Einaeuglein, Zweiaeuglein and Dreiaeuglein,
To lead them. The boys leave their camp and trek on,
Katrinelje and Pifpafpoltrie, the great
Sun-goddess and moon-god, smiling on them. They
Have no horses, zertanzten schuhe on their
Tired feet. But they keep on, Dieners of Fate.
They approach the town of Schwarzebraut, one step
Closer to completing their great commission.
Die Reise: Buch Zwei
Eisenhanz, as he is known by his rivals,
Is a gift to prinzessinnen, curse to kings.
The lone son of Knoist, he hails from small Brakel.
His household was poor, the little laemmchen had
No proper food or clothing. He left to learn
Zauber in Simeliberg, great hungersnot
Seizing his land. With only his eselein,
He travelled to Ruebe, not ungrateful for
Little blessings. Refreshened by the streams and
Various getier, he followed the great
Hahnenbalken in the sky. A bettelfrau
Met him on the way, and the foul traveller
Was rude to her. It was the Maedchen disguised,
And she made him her pitiful knecht for life.
From hirtenbueblein to zauberer, he's come
Far. He can turn a thaler into a stern,
And a heller into a braut. The cunning
Schlickerling takes the form of a red sparrow.
Parsifal and Heinrich have left Schwarzebraut,
Schlaraffenland their next destination. Its
Town, Bremen, is where they will find the singers.
Schneeweisschen and her Rosenrot, two Raben,
Give the boys a vision of a glass coffin.
'Our end goal,' muses Parsifal. Heinz is the
Jackdaw that guides them this time. They find Bremen,
And spot singers at the town centre, a greif
Their symbol, stitched on their bosoms. Hagere
Liese is the first musician. From a hut
In the old forest, aged with lieb and with leid.
Rohrdommel and Wiedehopf are her partners.
An eule named Lebenszeit perched on her head,
They call themselves Boten des Todes. Heinrich,
Son of Pfriem and Eva, and tall Parsifal
Approach them. Liese is a nixe, and is
Called Gaensehirtin by the locals. Without
Speaking, she hands them a flute the size of a
Nagel. The next hands them three coils of gold rope.
Next two rusty blades are given, Parsifal
Taking Laeuschen, Heinrich wielding Flohchen. They
Set course for the town Grab, and three more Raben
Send their familiars to guide them: Spindel,
Weberschiffchen, and Nadel send scouts Bauer,
Brosamen, and Meerhaeschen to lead the youths.
Hanz, meisterdieb, is catching up, in the guise
Of a trommler, holding a kornaehre, his
Concealed staff. They reach Grabhuegel, meeting old
Rinkrank, in reality Elsie, disguised
As a golden onager. They hop on the
Automaton and head for Himmel, the sprite
Giving them a small kristallkugel to scout
For danger. Maid Maleen, wife of Teufel, greets
Them with gifts: stiefel made of bueffelleder,
And a gold schluessel which can open any
Lock. Teufel, real name Josef, comes back home from
The city Apostel, with a rose for his
Frau. Armut and Demut, their sons, join them for
Dinner. The boys tuck in: butterbrot, ham, cheese.
'Gottes speise!' says Parsifal. Maleen laughs.
'Little gruenerzweig, it's simple food. I can't
Offer you something grand like a sip from the
Muttergottesglaeschen, or a view of the
Himmlische Hochzeit, the grand spectacle. I
Only have some simple haselrute and
Pfeffer. Nothing great for Parsifal nephew
Of Gurnemanz and noble son of kindly
Queen Herzeleide and Gamuret, son of
Gandin son of Addanz son of Lazaliez
Son of Mazadan,' she says with a firm nod.
'Nevertheless, it's delicious,' he assures.
They leave content and ready, eyes set up north,
Nachtigall and Blindschleiche sending their birds,
Messer, Schlachtens, Gaensehirt, Gestiefelte,
Serviette, and midnight-eyed Tornister,
Kanonenhuetlein, Gasterei, and horned Dumm.
The birds lead them to Blaubart, then Okerlo,
Then Hurleburlebutz, then to Maeusehaut.
Birnen in their bags, they're close to Moerderschloss.
Passing schreiners and drechslers through the land Prinz,
Fields of schneeblumen that can make you fleissig.
Their clothes are stitched lappen, but like Kuemmernis
They proceed, kraehen leading them to Loewe,
Marching like soldaten to war, though at peace.
No ungluecken on their journey yet, no wild
Men to harass them. They reach the city Schmied,
Known for its weapons. But they're not here for arms.
Heinrich thinks. 'Peredur, why did Min choose us?'
'I don't know,' Parsifal admits. 'Min is strange.
Known under many epithets and guises:
Urteufelin, and the cold Hoellenrose,
Aradia, Gundrigia, and Kundrie.
But to most she is the dark Namenlos, the
Strickerin des Krieges, her own agency.'
'Your ancestor was a fay, right?' Heinrich asks.
'Mazadan married a nixe from the Land
Of Joy.' 'I wonder who his ancestors were.'
He laughs. 'I'll indulge you. The line goes like this:
Isch, Schet, Enosch, Kenan, then Mahalalel,
Lords Jered, Chanoch, Metuschalach, Lemech,
Then Noach, Schem, Arpakschad, Kainan, Schelach,
Lords Ever, Paleg, Rewu, Serug, Nachor,
Then Terach, Avram, Jitzchak and Jaakov,
Lords Jehudah, Peretz, Chetzron and great Ram,
Then Aminadav, Nachschon, Salmon, Boaz,
Lords Oved, Jischai, David, and Schelomoh,
Then Rechavam, Avijah, and then Asa,
Lords Jehoschafat, Jehoram, Achazjah,
Then Jehoasch, Amazjah, and Uzijah,
Lords Jotam, Achaz, Chizkijah, Menascheh,
Then Amon, Joschijah, and Jehojakim,
Lords Jekonjah, Pedajah, Zerubavel,
Then Avihud, great Eljakim, and Azur,
Tzadok, Akim, Elihud, Eliezer,
Matan, Jaakov, Josef, and great Schimon.
Schimon's son was Mazadan, whose wife gave birth
Two-thousand one-hundred and fifty-six years
After conceiving, as typical of fay;
Lazaliez and Brickus, twins. Their children had
Normal gestations, however.' They reach Daum,
And find Frau Fuechsin, great zauberin. She sells
Various ointments and perfumes, the local
Apothecary. With a toothy smile she
Offers them medicines of diverse kinds. They
Politely refuse, and instead buy some gauze
And bandages. They leave for Dunkelf Land, the
Realm of Lichtelf Land, land of the Lichtelves, left
Behind. They enter a hell within heaven.
Hanz decides to demoralize them. The mage
Gives both of them nightmares on their first day in
The darklands. Nevertheless they persevere.
They soon find a traveller who's seen a beast
On the road ahead, dwelling in a castle.
'The beast has the paws of a lion and his
Body is covered in thorny scales, his feet
Have claws of a vulture, and his head bears the
Horns of a wild bull. His tail and phallus each
End in a snake's head. His roar is a whirlwind,
His jaws are flame, and his breath is Death itself.'
'Sounds just like my grandmother,' says Parsifal.
'The creature is the serf of Korbes Klingsor,
The ruling zauberer of this land. Kill it.'
They promise, and continue. 'So now we know
What Gevatter Tod looks like.' 'I fear his lord,
Not the beast itself.' They soon find the castle,
Moerderschloss. Its ghostly form hangs over them.
The boys are nervous. But Parsifal acts brave:
'Mazadan, or Mazal-dan in Hebraeisch,
Was a starry judge, afraid at his quests' start.
But he always did what was necessary,
Even when it wasn't so convenient.
He pushed through, and so his royal line, the great
House of the Unbesiegbarenkoenige,
Will remain a noble branch I can preserve.
So let's make your ancestors, and mine, very
Proud.' Smiling, Heinrich leads with a battle-cry:
'By the power of the Dreifaltigkeit! Im
Namen des Vaters, und des Sohnes, und des
Heiligen Geistes!' They charge the dread building,
The fight is fierce, the beast cruel, its lord
Absent, perhaps eaten by his creation.
They slay the stout monster with the flail and their
Blades, and decide to take its toenail as a
Token of their fight. The creature is conquered
Surprisingly quickly, and with much ease. 'I
Think we're naturals,' says Heinrich. Parsifal
Agrees. 'Where to next?' 'Frau Trude's place. We need
To hurry. Min gave us six days. We've used four.'
So they rush to their next destination, the
Wind in their feet and Sun in their tallow hair.
Die Reise: Buch Drei
'Thank you, Weisedame. You've been of much help.'
'The pleasure's mine, boys. Complete your quest!' says she.
They follow Fitcher to a mountain, where the
World-Tree stands, its nine worlds perched on its branches:
Goettergart, Elf-Heim, from whence came Lichtelves, Fay,
And Dunkelves, Nebel-Heim, eastern Riesen-Heim,
From whence came the riesen, Mitgart, Engel-Heim,
Feuer-Heim, Schwarzelfen-Heim, from whence the tough
Dwarrows came, and Totenreich, where dead souls go.
In the Tree lives the mighty hawk Wedfolner,
The stags Dain, Dwalin, Dunehr, Duratror,
The squirrel Ratatosk, messenger of great
Hraeswelg, and the nine serpents at the Tree's roots:
Nidhogg, Goin, Moin, Grafwitner, Grabak,
Ofner, Swafner, Grafwollud, and Jormungand.
The nine protector goddesses of the Tree
Approach them: Himinglaeva Gjalp, Dufa Greip,
Blodughadda Eistla, Hefring Ehrgjafa,
Uder Ulfrun, Hron Angeja, Bilgja Imd,
Drofen Atla, and great Kolga Jarnsaksa,
Daughters of Aegir and his beloved Ran.
They offer them water from the Tree's three wells:
Erdarbrun, Hwergelmer, and bright Mimisbrun.
The eagle Hraeswelg watches all of the worlds,
Seeing all past, present, and future events.
Parsifal and Heinrich drink, and the Sultan
Appears. Old Aegir smiles, and greets them, grinning.
'My dear Ran waited for you.' He leads them to
A cave, where a glass coffin rests. Inside is
A sleeping beauty, Dornroeschen, Aegir's Ran.
'She will wake in five minutes. You came on time.'
Skin white as snow, lips red as blood, hair black as
Ebony. She opens her gentle eyes, and
Laughs. 'Peredur! Great to see you, and your friend!'
He doesn't question how she knows his nickname,
Only bows respectfully. 'Where is Vogel,
Your servant?' She summons her familiar,
A silver eagle with three heads and twelve wings,
And instructs him to guide them to Drosselbart.
She'll fall asleep once more in a hundred days.
Aegir and Ran wish them well, and they take leave.
Fundevogel leads them on their final trek,
To meet the zauberer, Bertilak the Green,
After whom Drosselbart was named, each locale
Called after a zauberer or zauberin.
'I'm puzzled. How does the Great Tree carry the
Nine Worlds, and yet is planted in one? It's on
Mitgart, and yet Mitgart, like the other worlds,
Is held in its branches.' 'It's an illusion.
To us Mitgarters the Tree appears planted
In Mitgart, to the Wanir in Engel-Heim,
To the Aesir in Goettergart. In truth it
Is rooted nowhere, as it is the Root of
All Reality.' They're close to Hautdesert,
The official name for Drosselbart City.
'My ancestors once ruled all these diverse lands.'
'Mazadan's people?' 'Mazadan was granted
Immortality, as he was accepted
Into the fay nation. He and his wife saw
Their sons grow into men of renown. But they,
Unlike their parents, were mortal. So they had
To make the most of their short lives, and conquered
Various realms for their own. Their great kingdom
They called Skandza. Skandza was split into three
States: Irmin, Ingwin, and Iskio. In these
Vast states lived various peoples; Ostrogoths,
Visigoths, Vandals, Gepids, and some Saxons,
Burgundians, Thuringi, and some Lombards,
Bavarians, Romans, Bretons, Franks, and some
Alamanni. There were also foreigners.
Each group lived in peace with one another, with
People of different orientations, too:
Sapphists, uranians, and non-binaries,
Amphiphylophiles, and demisexuals,
Diemphylics, transsexuals, two-spirits,
The intersex, the queer, and the questioning,
Asexuals, cishets, and pansexuals,
And polyamorous people. All as one.'
'What happened?' 'War,' he says grimly. 'War came and
The unity was lost. Ignorance grew. We
Fear what we don't understand and hate what we
Fear. So minorities became outcasts, and
The Kingdom split into various kingdoms.'
They travel on, chatting about great legends
Like Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Flosshilde,
Queens of the deathless nixen, also called fay.
The fire-limbed sun is shining, the wind cool.
'Who will you marry once you become a king?'
'I have my eyes set on one. Kondwiramurs.'
'Is she a nice girl?' 'Lovely. She's been writing
Poetry and letters for me, sending them
Via pigeon as we've done this quest.' 'Well, how
Do you know it's her?' 'I know her handwriting.
I can identify her C, U, and T
From any other. What about you, Heinrich?'
'The one I long for is far from my reach. They
Are ever near me, yet still beyond my grasp.'
They reach Drosselbart, their final location.
'We are supposed to meet someone at this place.'
To their great surprise, they find Hanz at the gates.
'We don't want to hurt you.' The old zauberer
Laughs. 'A thousand of you couldn't hurt me.' They
Ready their weapons. He raises a bare hand.
'Peace. I mean no harm.' 'The Spinnerinnen would
Disagree.' 'Erd, Werdandi, and Skuld have been
Fools from the beginning. I was sent to stop
You. To deter you, out of good intentions.'
'Deter us from what?' 'From starting a war, child.'
'You make no sense. We were sent to prevent a
War from happening.' 'You did the opposite.'
He explains: 'The beast you killed, Gevatter Tod,
Was once Parsifal's half-brother, Feirefiz.'
Parsifal is shocked. 'You lie!' 'Before your dad
Met your mother, he married Belakane.
This queen bore Feirefiz after Gamuret
Left for war in his native lands. Snatched by the
Zauberer Klingsor a while later, with spells
He was transformed into a monster. A great
Beast that struck fear into enemy kings. 'Twas
Your brother that kept them at bay. He was the
Guardian of our lands.' Realization.
'And we killed him.' 'He had been weakened before
Your arrival, by a servant of Kundrie.'
Heinrich is shattered. Parsifal feels dizzy.
'So…this means…' 'That it was Min's plan all along.
She orchestrated all of this. Sent you on
A quest that would bring doom to us all. Her plan
Was a success.' 'But why...why would she do this?'
'War is its own agent, boy. It has no rhyme
Or reason. It only seeks to take more lives.'
Parsifal falls to his knees. His eyes weep streams.
'No…this can't be…' As if on cue, loud sirens
Blare a warning message across the city,
Sirens in each town and nearby settlement:
'BALDER, MEILI, WIDAR, NEP, WALI, DONNER,
HILDOLF, HERMOD, SIGI, SKJOLD, INGWI-FROH, AND
ITREKSJOD! SONS OF WOTAN AND FREJA! FLEE!'
Heinrich kneels by his friend. Hanz shakes his head and
Flies away in the form of a bird. 'Heinrich...
What have we done?' He wipes the tears from his face.
'Mein liebling...Peredur...I don't know. But I
Do know that, whatever happens now, we will
Face it together. I will never leave you,
Nor forsake you.' He hugs him. The clouds darken.
'You're my grail, Heinrich. My power comes from you.'
Young Heinrich must be strong for Parsifal's sake.
'You're the son of a king. If he were alive,
I know he would tell you how proud he was of
The man you became. We'll fix this, Parsifal.'
'But where do we even start?' Heinrich smiles. 'We
Start by going home. It's time to take your throne.'
So they set off. Si vis pacem, fac bellum.
The jackdaws have left them. They're on their own now.
In time Parsifal and Kondwiramurs will
Have two brave sons; Kardeiz and Lohengrin. But
For now the two boys are in the jaws of War,
And must pry themselves from its toothy hold one
Fight at a time. 'Jahowah ist mein Hirte,
Mir wird nichts mangeln,' Parsifal says calmly.
'Jawohl. Und Ich werde bleiben im hause
Jahowah immerdar,' adds Heinrich with hope.
The boys journey onward. The Sun hides her eyes,
The Moon his wool-white beard. Even the great stars
Conceal their hosts. But the two will be fine. For
They choose to make their own destiny. The road
Winds on endlessly, broad horizons ahead.
Parsifal only sees imminent danger,
But Heinrich spots some grand opportunities.
A series of poems written by Captain Richard, started on the day his planet was destroyed and finished years later.
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